The Next Decade

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed my particular affinity for it. Getting older, I mean. It’s kind of a weird sentiment from what I can tell. How many times have you heard a friend fervently wish, “Oh, if I could just go back to being 21 again!”

Bah, I say. I’m not going to lie and tell my youngin friends that things get easier as the years roll by. You just get more used to living. More comfortable in your own skin.

Last night. 11:59 p.m. One minute til I turn 30. One long minute. I don’t know what I expected, but this was the first time I’d had any reservations about this whole new decade thing. Thirty. Whoa. Ok. But the moment passed.

Maybe we make such a big deal about the decade bdays, because it’s like a New Year’s Resolution x 10. Lose the weight, find the right career path, read more, spend more time with family, or more time communing with nature. All are quite respectable resolutions for any new year/decade, but I think I found the best one for me.

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to force myself into the right body shape, demeanor, or personality (insert personal issue here). I’ve questioned myself, my intensity, passion, exhuberance, loyalty, but sometimes my quiet introversion.  Pretty much, I’ve just worried too much for too long.

I think I’m done. This decade is for being myself and being proud of it. I am always willing to learn, to reflect, and be a better person, but all the little things that make me, me, are just fine. And that’s why I am glad to be 30.

Love Always,

Amanda Dawn

P.S. My phone inadvertently took this picture of me. I thought it was kind of perfect to sum this post up. Cheers.

Bios and Hope

This is the fifth time I have sat down in the last five months to write to you. Inundated with school, work, and writing for my LocalView internship, I unfortunately let the most important part of my writing journey fall by the wayside- my personal creative outlet. It’s a shame, but I will try to make up for lost time.

It is highly probable that my thoughts on, “Are Writers Narcissistic? ” and “The Proverbial Sadness” (two of my blogs that just didn’t make it out of the gate) will never be published. It’s interesting to see what an incomplete Amanda train of thought looks like months later. When I let the train chug away, the spark disappears, and I was never truly able to figure out what point I was trying to make after the fact.

I am close to embarking on a new chapter of my life. I have two more classes this fall before I will finally graduate. Only eight years after the projected date. Not too bad, huh? 😉 Next week I will start my first paid position in my chosen field. I am obviously a little bit excited, coupled with some intense anxiety.

The people I have met so far at my new job have totally impressed me. I literally couldn’t have felt more comfortable in my own skin during my two hour interview with Julia and Brian. Do I even need to say how ridiculously amazing (though abnormal) that is?

Last week I was asked to write a short bio for myself before my first day of work. I was asked to check out the bios of my soon to be co-workers, then choose whether I wanted to go the more serious route or be completely silly. The choice was up to me. Have you ever tried this? It’s not an easy task to say the least. Though I, nor anyone else for that matter, could possibly sum up their creative, professional, and/or personal lives in a few sentences, this was my shot at it.

Amanda is very passionate about writing creatively. She loves to learn something new every day and would definitely rather get lost in a book than play video games. She is also a bit obsessed with the color green, Harry Potter, pandas, ice cream, and sushi. “Hope” is her mantra, and she tries to spread the word on its benefits.

Cheers,
Amanda Dawn